A Song For The Dead
by Bugnuks And Crossbows
Summary: Rating Subject To Change. Weiss is sent to track down a murderer but according to the evidence, their murderer doesn't exist. Final Chapter
1. Introduction

A/N: _For anyone who wants to know- this isn't a Y/K fic. In fact, it's mostly pairing less. The only pairings that may be written in would be K/O, A/Y/A, and Y/OC, if it can really be counted… it's complicated, don't ask, you'll understand in the end. Blech._

A Song For The Dead

Ken watched from the street corner as Yohji led a strange boy into a nearby alley. It was Friday night and Manx had come earlier in the day to give them their mission.

It was an odd sort of mission, with no information about the murderer and grotesque, graphic images. The only clues they had for this case were- All of the victims were male and every single one of them had been shredded apart and drained of blood. In the end they had agreed to begin their search downtown near the largest patch of clubs in the city.

Omi had positioned himself upstairs in one of the building on the street, where his view of the road was clear, Ran waited at the other end of the street, a couple blocks from Ken, while Yohji had been assigned to patrol the street, somewhere he often found himself on lonely nights anyway.

Irritated, Ken made his way down the road towards the alley with every intention of pulling the blonde playboy out by the ear.

Stepping into the alley, he couldn't help but pause. He could see very little of Yohji from where he stood, since the boy who had accompanied Yohji into the alley had placed himself in the blonde's lap.

Yohji's hands lay against the pavement, immobile even as the younger boy caressed his chest beneath his shirt. His eyes remained closed while the boy lapped avidly at his neck. Both were disturbingly quiet. Something remained very wrong about the scene.

As he took a step forwards he heard the boy make a soft sound before sitting upright, back to Ken. Now that he could see a bit more clearly, Ken immediately spotted the blood that ran slowly down Yohji's neck. As the metallic scent of blood began to rise into the air, Ken unsheathed his bugnuks and drove one set into the boy's back.

With a sharp noise, the boy paused all movement for a moment before standing. Ken watched in shock as the boys hands moved to his chest- more specifically to the claws jutting out from him. The boy sighed, sensually caressing the claws for a moment, before pulling himself from the blades.

Turning around the boy faced Ken, eyes closed. The youth and shape of his face made Ken think of Omi, he found it difficult not to. Red-blond hair hung to either side of his youthful face in two shoulder length braids, while two strands of freefalling hair hung behind them. After that, the boy's hair was quite short and slightly spiky.

As Ken continued to numbly study the face of the boy before him, the stranger opened his eyes. Ancient blue eyes imprisoned him in their gaze. Time almost stopped as he lost himself in eyes that were slowly shifting from an icy blue to a deep midnight, rippling like the waves of the ocean.

Slowly the stranger, whose entire presence demanded from him respect and awe, walked towards him, pressing his already healed chest against the poised claws of Kens other hand. Leaning in, a soft tenor whispered into his ear, a thick Spanish accent overhanging his formal Japanese.

"If you have any inclination to save that man," he whispered, breath causing Kens hair to tickle his ear, "I do not suggest that you continue to stand there and stare."

Pulling himself from the blades once more, those soulful eyes glanced to his chest as he raised a hand to the injuries. Before Kens eyes, they closed themselves up, as if he were watching a shallow cut heal at a rapid rate.

Looking up again the strange smiled a soft, sad smile and walked back to the street. "Save him, my murderer," his voice purred softly from the street.

Finally free from his trance, Ken ran to the street. "W-wait! Who are you!" he asked, desperate for a response.

Pausing, the boy glanced over his shoulder. "Who is asking?"

"The man who will hunt you down if that blond dies."

"The man who plans to end my infinity?" he asked, then smiled coyly. "Then let him know my name. Minamoto Rio."

Without another word, he vanished into the night.

* * *

The OC's that appear in this story, Minamoto Rio and Fox, are copyright to me and me alone. If any others appear, you may feel free to use them at your will, but so much as touch Rio or Fox and I'll hunt you down. 


	2. Chapter One

A Song For The Dead

"Ken-kun!" Omi called from his spot at the computer..

"Yeah? Did you find something?" Ken asked, appearing by his side instantly.

It had been two days since his encounter with Rio and his nerves were on the fritz. Omi could find no information about a Minamoto Rio anywhere on the Internet. Friday night, Ken had transported Yohji to the hospital Kritiker had for its agents, where he and Ran currently resided.

After the blood transfusion had taken place, they were informed that they shouldn't worry; Yohji's condition was stable.

"... Are you sure our target is Minamoto Rio?" Omi asked in response.

"Of course, why?"

"Ken-kun, the only Minamoto Rio registered as living in Japan is a ten year old boy," Omi explained, pulling up a picture.

Ken stared in shock at the picture. The resemblance between the Rio he had encountered and the boy on the Internet was uncanny. Sitting on a swing beneath an old oak tree sat a young boy with long red-blond hair. Beads were entwined in strands of his hair all over the place, shining red orbs that only enhanced the red of his hair.

If this boy had been older, with shorter hair, then he could very well have been the twin of the boy he had met two nights before. If not for the eyes.

Clear as day, the blue eyes of the boy on the screen were not the mysterious, drowning, wise old eyes that he had met with previously. They were not the hauntingly beautiful eyes that had enchanted and imprisoned him.

But even now, looking at a picture of someone so very similar, he could hear the soft purr, "save him, my murderer..."

"Ken-kun...?" Omi's voice cut into his thoughts, making him look down at the cinnamon haired boy.

"They look... so similar," he mumbled.

"This is him, then?" Omi asked, looking confused.

"No. That's not him. The person I met was older, about seventeen. But they're still so close..."

"Perhaps they're related," Omi suggested. "I can look up their family name and try and find someone else who looks similar."

"Yeah... Hey," Ken paused, thinking a moment, then speaking again. "Try searching Spain, too."

"Spain?" Omi blinked at him. "Why Spain?"

"He had an accent, it sounded Spanish to me, although it could be Italian," Ken shrugged.

"Well, Rio is a Spanish name, so if either I'd lay my bet with Spain."

Minimizing the picture, Omi opened a new Internet window and began an overall search for the family name "Minamoto."

"I'm gonna go bring Aya some lunch while you search, alright? If you find anything, call me," Ken sighed, heading upstairs.

The fan girls were, for once, absent from the vicinity of the shop, Ken noticed as he climbed on his bike and headed for Kritikers main office building. They had been mysteriously absent since they heard that Yohji was away sick, though they did stop by occasionally to drop off "Get Well Soon," cards, flowers and boxes of chocolate.

Pulling up to the building he had been heading to, Ken shut off his bike, pulling off his helmet and setting it on his bike for a moment to take a big breath of air, before entering the office.

The hospital was located in the ground level of the main Kritiker office, and people who worked on the upper floors of the building could be seen milling about like little ants, to and from work, with no knowledge of what took place below ground level.

"Ken!" a voice from behind him called, causing him to turn around.

"Hm? Oh! Yuushi! Naru! What are you two doing here?" Ken greeted as the two Crashers members approached. Naru smiled pleasantly holding up a couple cards.

"Masato-san and I bought get well cards for Yohji-san when we heard that he got hurt... So, Yuushi-san and I are coming to visit!" the boy explained happily.

"Come to visit Aya too? He's been looking after Yohji for the past little bit," Ken smiled, walking with the pair towards Yohji's room.

"Yeah, are you planning on picnicking in the hospital?" Yuushi asked, gesturing to the basket in Ken's hand.

"No, just thought Aya might be hungry," Ken grinned.

"Hey Ken-san?"

"Yes?" Ken blinked, glancing at Naru.

"How did Yohji-san get hurt?" the brown-eyed teen asked.

"Heh... you're too young to hear a lot of the information that comes with that answer," Ken muttered a little.

Yuushi blinked at Ken, before rubbing his face. "Oh he didn't!"

"He did... he did," Ken assured the leader of the Crashers as they stepped into Yohji's room. "Yo, Aya, brought you lunch."

Ran glanced up from his seat near the bed, watching the others enter.

"Ran-san!" Naru smiled brightly. "Hi!"

"Naru, Yuushi..." Ran blinked, very nearly showing his surprise.

Naru's attention, however, had already been diverted to the gifts around the room. Tucking away the two cards he had brought, he went to explore the various flower arrangements.

"Morning, Ran," Yuushi smiled a little, learning against a wall.

Setting the basket near Ran, Ken sighed. "How's Yohji?"

"He woke up earlier this morning for about half an hour," Ran sighed, too, glancing at the bed. "Did you find the person who did this?"

Ken almost laughed at Ran's question, but answered nonetheless. "We found a ten year old clone of the boy who did this."

Ran raised an eyebrow in question, but Ken just shrugged. "Long story, I'll tell ya when you come home."

With a short wave, Ken headed out to his bike again and set off home. He had every confidence in Omi to find out what was going on, really he did! He just didn't want to wait twenty years for the answer.

"Omi!" Ken called, heading down to the mission room. "Find anything?"

"You're not going to believe what I found, Ken-kun," Omi mumbled.

Leaning over Omi's shoulder, he was amazed to find that the blond had more than sixty Internet windows open.

"Omi...?"

"I traced it back, through Japan... through Spain... Documents hundreds of years old have this name!" Omi exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "But... here's the real getter... Every single boy by the name of Minamoto Rio has either gone missing or died. This occurrence dates back to the mid thirteen hundreds! The most recent was a death in Spain, nineteen eighteen, during that pandemic that killed so many people."

Staring in shock, Ken shook his head. "You're kidding..."

"Not at all," Omi frowned. "I've been tracing back as far as I can trying to gather information. They all have been described the same way- red-blond hair, blue eyes, tall and thin. They go missing or die near their seventeenth birthday.

"Ken-kun... That person you saw... he can't exist," Omi concluded. "They don't live to the age of seventeen."

"If he doesn't exist, then tell me why Yohji's in the hospital!" Ken cried out, frustrated.

"I can't do that, I don't understand any more than you do. It's as if Persia sent us to hunt a ghost." Omi frowned, flipping to the latest page of his Internet list. "And it all started here..."

Thanks to YuKki and The Invisible Fan for your reviews. Review make me happy. I'm only deciding to update now because I've actually written six chapters… And besides, the prologue isn't particularly interesting.

Hope you enjoyed this little installment.


	3. Chapter Two

A Song For The Dead

"Rio! There are monsters hunting you now because of your stupidity."

The blue-eyed boy glanced up from his book to look at his companion blankly. "Your point?"

"They're gonna hunt you down!" the orange-eyed man grinned gleefully.

"And stick me with their silly little weapons," Rio responded, glancing back down at his book, "for all the good it will do them."

"And then you can kill them and I can eat them!"

"Fox, I will not permit the scent of roasting flesh in my house," the braided boy wrinkled his nose in disgust, flipping to the next page of his book.

"The silly humans think they're the hunters, but when they arrive, I'll gobble them up!" Fox giggled, rubbing his hands together.

"No, you won't," Rio glared darkly over the top of his book. "They are mine and when they arrive you won't lay a finger on them."

Closing the book, Rio stood and stretched, then pulled his trench coat around his shoulders, before pulling on his shoes.

"Where are you going, Rio?" Fox asked, his voice lilting merrily.

"...To drop another hint," Rio smiled over his shoulder.

* * *

Yohji slowly opened his eyes as his hospital rooms light turned on, causing him to groan and roll over.

"I know you're awake, Yohji-kun, I brought you some cookies," Omi's ever so cheerful morning voice cut into the wondrous silence of his own little world.

"Cookies?" he murmured into his pillow.

"And some tea- and before you complain, the doctors said it would be better for you that way. As is I should have given these to Ken-kun, at least he would have appreciated all my hard work making them," the boy rambled a little, pouring a cup of still hot peppermint tea for the eldest member of his team.

"Nee... Omi...?" Yohji spoke up suddenly, cutting into Omi's ramble.

"Yes, Yohji-kun?"

"...What happened?"

Omi blinked a little. "Well... what do you remember?"

"I was... patrolling the road, and I started talking to this really hot piece of a-"

"YOHJI-KUN!" Omi yelped, covering his ears.

"Alright, alright, chibi," Yohji chuckled softly. "We headed towards an out of the way place, did a little something and I woke up here."

"...Two days later," Omi concluded. "Yohji-kun, can you describe that boy to me?"

"Hell ya... why 'Mittchi? Lookin' for some lovin'?" Yohji turned to grin at Omi.

"No," Omi sighed exasperatedly, "trying to find out whether or not Ken-kun went crazy."

"What's Ken's sanity have to do with my pretty company?" Yohji blinked.

"I'll explain after you give me his description," Omi frowned.

"Well..." Yohji looked at the stucco ceiling thoughtfully. "He was younger than the type I usually go for, about seventeen or eighteen, I'd guess. He had red-blond hair, fairly pale olive skin, and a long, thin body. I'd place him about Ken's height... But what really drew me in... his eyes. Those gorgeous blue eyes.

"Every time he looked at me, I felt as if he were gazing into my soul, reading me, assessing me and yet... he accepted me with all of my sins..." Yohji sighed a bit, brushing a hand through his hair. "He was so beautiful."

Omi frowned deeply. "Did he have an accent?"

"Yeah... come to think of it. Italian or something."

"Spanish?"

"That's the one!" Yohji grinned a little lopsidedly. "I had this dream last night that he came to me... he kissed me... touched me... called me his pet. He begged me for his help..." Yohji's brow creased minimally, then his face brightened again. "Ah, but it was a beautiful dream."

"Yohji-kun..." Omi raised his voice once more, hesitantly.

"Yes, chibi?"

"...Did he tell you his name?"

"Last night he whispered it to me in my dream," Yohji blinked.

"What did he say his name was?" Omi asked a little tense.

"Minamoto Rio..."

"..." Omi sat in silence, staring at the ceiling.

"What's wrong, Omittchi?" Yohji asked, frowning a little.

"Everything about this... Minamoto Rio..."

"Explain, Omi." Yohji continued to frown, quite serious.

"No one by the name of Minamoto Rio has lived to the age of seventeen since the thirteen hundreds, Yohji-kun, they've either died, or gone missing without a trace. The only Minamoto Rio currently in existence is a ten year old who lives in Otaru."

"Then... did I dream him up?" Yohji frowned further, confused. "Does he exist?"

"At first... I thought Ken-kun might have dreamt him up, after the results of my research... but you just described to me exactly what Ken-kun said. Red-blond hair, tall, slim, with very peculiar blue eyes. That description also matches all the records I found of previously existing Minamoto Rio's, and the picture of our ten year old in Otaru."

"Is he maybe one of the one's who went missing?" Yohji asked, growing more confused with each response he received.

"Not possible. The Minamoto Rio born before the ten year old died in nineteen eighteen during the pandemic that swept through Spain. Died at sixteen years of age. None were born between nineteen eighteen and nineteen ninety five."

"I... don't understand. Is he a ghost!"

"...I'm not... ruling out that possibility..." Omi responded slowly.

"But how could a ghost hospitalize me? Aren't they supposed to be insubstantial or something?"

"True... and if he is, as we suspect, behind all the murders... how and why is he killing them?" Omi asked absently. Suddenly the blonde shook his head. "Never mind, eat your cookies and drink your tea like a good little boy. Doctors said we can take you home tomorrow."

"...Just like you to change a topic from thought provoking to childish in a heartbeat." Yohji grumbled, sitting up to eat his cookies.

"It was a weird topic, and you needed to get some food in you anyways," Omi smiled. "…We were really worried about you, you know. You had lost so much blood and you were so cold… even Yuushi-kun and Naru-kun came in to see you."

Blinking at Omi, Yohji frowned a little. "What happened after I blacked out? You didn't answer me."

"…Ask Ken-kun, he saved you, he knows."

"And you don't?" he asked, looking confused.

"Not nearly as well as…" Omi paused. "Yohji-kun, are you ok? You don't look so good."

Yohji made a soft noise before throwing up all over the bed. With a short yelp, Omi moved away, not really wanting the contents of Yohji's stomach all over him. Turning for the door, Omi called for the nearest doctor to come. As a curly haired doctor stepped into the room, Yohji held his stomach, moaning in pain.

"I asked if he could eat the cookies, you said it was ok!" Omi frowned worriedly.

"There shouldn't have been a problem," the doctor responded. "Balinese let's get you cleaned up…" she sighed, gesturing in a few nurses to help clean the bed.

Omi watched in confusion as the doctor accompanied Yohji to the bathroom. Everything that had happened played through his mind and he remembered nothing that should have made Yohji feel ill. Cautiously, he picked up a cookie and took a bite. It tasted normal enough.

With an exasperated sigh, Omi stepped out of the building and headed home.

* * *

_Hm, am I being repetitive? ...Blah, I probably am. It's not like this later... ._

Thankies reviewers! luv to you all!

And Rii-neesan-No ruining anything you. 


	4. Chapter Three

A Song For The Dead

Yohji sat in the bathtub, eyes on the stucco ceiling. He couldn't process the information Omi had delivered and it had a very negative effect on his mind. How could it be that his beautiful stranger didn't exist? How could someone so flawless be the murderer that Persia wanted them to eliminate?

It seemed like a cruel joke, they wanted to steal away his master. Yohji's entire train of thought stopped for a moment. _Master? Where did that come from?_ Closing his eyes, Yohji frowned in thought. Slowly, without realizing it, he dropped off into sleep.

"Yotan," a soft voice whispered in his ear, warm air tickling his skin pleasantly.

His eyes fluttered open slowly as he woke. Hauntingly beautiful blue eyes met his, and the shorter boy smiled fondly.

"It's time to go now, Yotan," the boy said softly, his accent a little heavier than before.

"Go? But… the sun isn't even up…" Yohji frowned sleepily.

A soft hand caressed his cheek as Rio laughed, silkily. "That is why it is time to go now. You agreed last night," he reminded Yohji.

"Alright, can I dress first?"

"Of course. Here."

Rio held out a few pieces of Yohji's clothing, before stepping out of the bathroom. "Meet me in front of the building."

Dressing sleepily, Yohji made his way through the eerily empty building. His footsteps echoed deafeningly along the marble floors as he approached the front of the building. He paused at the glass double doors that led out of the building, watching the boy outside with a curious smile.

Rio knelt by the garden in front of the building, gently caressing a night-blooming flower that he couldn't see well enough to name at the moment. There were no lights on out on the street, but the blue-eyed boy was illuminated, nonetheless, by the light of a nearly full moon.

Although he didn't want to disturb such a serene scene, he couldn't help but wonder where the enigmatic boy intended to take him. He pushed open the glass doors and walked over to the braided boy with a little smile.

"Ready to go?" Rio asked, not looking up from the fragile flower in his hand.

"Ready when you are, master," Yohji replied, then frowned at his slip up.

Rio laughed a little. "Master, huh?"

"I don't know why I said that… it just slipped out, honest!"

Standing, Rio smiled and kissed Yohji's cheek. "It's ok, I don't mind if you call me master."

The koneko no sumi iie was in a frenzy. Earlier that morning they had received a phone call saying that Yohji had gone missing and every single one of them had dealt with the news in their own way.

Ran, for example, had locked himself away in his bedroom, trying to sort out his feelings about the situation in private. Omi took off to the office to help figure out where Yohji had gone to. And Ken…?

Ken frantically paced the living room. He had a gut feeling that Yohji hadn't disappeared on his own, and that Rio had something to do with it. Finally, frustrated by his inability to do something, he headed for Ran's room.

Knocking on the door, he waited for the red-head to respond. Slowly, the door cracked open and Ran emerged. "Yes?"

"I'm going to Otaru to find our dark beast," Ken stated.

"You think he's involved with Yohji's disappearance," Ran responded, closing the door behind him.

"I do, and right now Otaru is the residence of the only clue we have."

"I'm coming," Ran informed him, heading downstairs.

"I'll call Omi and let him know," Ken sighed, following Ran down the stairs before heading off in search of his phone.

Dialling Omi's cell, Ken waited, pulling his shoes and jacket on. "Ken-kun?" Omi soon picked up. "Did you find him?"

"No… did you?"

"Nothing yet. We're examining the security tapes and there's not much activity going on," Omi sighed.

"…If you find something, call my cell. Aya and I are heading to Otaru."

"You're going to find Minamoto Rio…" Omi sounded surprised.

"Of course," Ken responded.

"Ken-kun! He's a _child_! You can't involve a ten year old in this!"

"He's the only lead we _have_ right now, Omi!" Ken frowned. "If we want to find Yohji and end these murders… We have to take everything into account. Everything matters."

"Go," Omi sighed. "If you find anything, call me right away."

"I will. See you later."

"Bye, Ken-kun…" Omi hung up.

"Nnn..." Yohji groaned softly as he opened his eyes. The light was very dim, and he found it difficult to see, but he had already learned that his companion preferred it that way.

Moving to the edge of the bed, he heard Rio make a soft, distinctly miffed, sound as his pillow moved. Sitting up, the slender boy rubbed at one of his eyes with a little yawn, looking at him.

"Yotan? Where are you going?" he asked, scooting to wrap his arms around Yohji from behind.

" Rio … I shouldn't be here."

"Why not?" the boy asked. "Do you dislike my company?"

"No," Yohji turned around as Rio dropped his arms from around his waist.

The blond frowned softly as Rio turned away and lay down again. You didn't have to be empathic to notice the rejected way that his companion moved.

" Rio , I love your company but…. It's just…" Yohji sighed heavily, running a hand through his tousled hair. "My friends will be looking for me."

"I make you uncomfortable." The soft accusation didn't sound particularly mean, or even much like an accusation at all, but he could tell that it was.

"Yes…" Yohji answered warily.

"…Why?" that soft tenor betrayed very little emotion.

"Because….. According to all Omi's evidence… you don't exist! Are you… a ghost or something!" Yohji's voice, he realized with absent dismay, certainly did not reach the level of barrenness that Rio seemed so superior in using.

"Spirits, firstly, they consider the term 'ghost' quite rude," Rio informed him, rolling onto his back to look at him. "Fox, come here, please," he requested, suddenly.

Yohji yelped in shock as a man with white hair streaked with red appeared out of no where. With light skin, narrow orange eyes, and small blue circles decorating his skin, he look as if he were something out of a bizarre cat-man movie. The newcomers smirking gaze held him in place as he focused his every thought on fleeing.

"Can I eat him?" the apparition asked, licking his lips.

"No, you may not eat him," Rio wrinkled his nose. Turning to Yohji, Rio continued his lecture. "Neither Fox nor I are ghosts," he explained calmly to the nearing hysterical blond. "I believe your myths call us... Gaki? Fox is a flash gaki and I am a blood gaki?"

Getting no response from the green-eyed man who stared so very intently at him, the boy sighed. "And you… in my myths, you are…"

Ran's Porche slowly pulled up beside the academy and Ken whistled a little.

"That's one preppy looking building," he mumbled. "High class place, this one."

"He's rich, Omi already told you that," Ran responded, shutting off the vehicle.

The pair hopped out of the Porche and made their way to the office of Hakudo Academy- a training academy named after a teacher from the Toyama Academy , who had taught during the eighteen seventies. Hakudo Academy had been formed in the early nineteen nineties as a more accessible training academy.

Having checked over Omi's saved information about the boy; both men had decided to pretend they were friends of the youth's deceased parents. Ken hated to anger any spirits, but he figured since they were dealing with them and planning on 'assassinating' one anyway, it wasn't like they were going to be pleased with him to begin with.

"Excuse me," Ken smiled amiably at the professional looking woman behind the desk.

"Yes?" she asked, peering at them over the top of her half moon glasses. "How can I help you?"

"My name is Hidaka Ken, I used to be friends of the Minamoto's. I just recently heard what happened and came to see how Rio is, is he here?"

The lady laughed softly, gesturing to a fifteen year old who sat in the infirmary nursing wounds.

"Of course, making a ruckus as usual. He's currently in room one seven zero seven, down the hall to the right."

Ken smiled a little more brightly at her. "Thank you. C'mon Aya…"

The pair headed quietly to the room they had been directed to and stepped in. Upon entering they found themselves, with a small crowd, watching two figures in the middle of the massive room.

The pair wore dark blue keikogi and grey hakama, and stood with their katana's unsheathed and at the ready.

"I dare you to say that again, bastard!" the shorter of the two hissed.

"Want your mommy, orphan boy?" the taller asked, sneering.

With an angry cry, the smaller boy bolted forwards his hair-bound in a tight cattail- trailing behind him, almost dramatically. Quickly, he knocked his opponent to the floor and glared, without an ounce of sympathy. Raising his katana, he poised it over the chest of the fallen boy, stepping on his hand to force him to release his own weapon.

"I bet you're regretting your words now, Yushikawa," the current victor said, voice resonating hatred.

In a swift move, the boy stabbed down. Gasps ran through the crowd as the boy on the floor yelped and closed his eyes, but the impact never came. Ken watched, bemused, as Ran pressed the blade of his katana against the child's throat. Dropping his weapon, the boy raised his hands, scowling darkly.

"Run, Yushikawa. If you value that disgusting life of yours, run home to your mother so she can lick your wounds. She'll die of shame to hear that you were bested by someone four years younger than you."

And Yushikawa fled.

The crowd that had been watching slowly vanished to different classes as the bell rang, talking animatedly about the occurrence they had just witnessed. The boy continued to scowl, keeping his arms raised, before moving and dropping to the floor, attempting to kick Ran's feet out from beneath him.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on whom you happened to be, Ran moved away before the boy could succeed in his attempt. Staying on his knees in a defensive position, the boy glowered at the red-head.

"…Your name is Minamoto Rio?" Ran asked.

"Who is asking?" the question echoed in Ken's head unpleasantly, the tone of voice giving him flashbacks of a day almost a week ago.

* * *

Another chapter... this one was late... TT Sorry guys. I got grounded. >.> It really isn't late because I'm lazy, in fact, I've almost finished writing this one completely. About ten chapters long, debating an Epilogue.

Just so everyone knows, 'blood gaki' are things like Vampires, 'flesh gaki' are things like zombies... etc. I know I was confused when I first heard the terms so... And yes. My Vampires are subtly different from the more well known Vampires. I won't elabourate. That's why Yohji threw up, dimonyo-anghel-san.

And one last note: Rio-kun's school... that's mostly all true. It was named after a teacher blah blah... I researched long and hard on that one. However, the school itself doesn't exist.


	5. Chapter Four

A Song For The Dead

A soft breath tickled his throat, while gentle, soft fingers stroked his face. He groaned softly, moving his arms around the waist of the unknown body in his bed. A warm tongue flicked out, tracing along his collarbone slowly, teasing him.

He slowly slipped his hands up into the shirt of the stranger, scratching gently at the thin back, causing skin to quaver beneath his fingers. The mouth moved away from his collarbone, and that warm, subtly cinnamon scented breath fell slowly across his lips.

Opening his eyes, Ken found himself face to face with those ancient eyes that haunted dreams.

"Hello, my murderer," the boy whispered airily across his lips.

"What are you doing here? In my room, no less?" Ken asked, trying to slow his breathing.

"I had been watching you sleep," Rio said, thoughtfully, tracing a finger along Ken's jaw, "but then it got too tempting not to touch, so I touched," a mischieviouss gleam lit in his eyes. "And you touched back, so I tasted..."

"Get off me," Ken growled dangerously.

Tsking softly, Rio sighed. "So unfriendly. At least Yotan was polite."

That calmed Ken down immediately. However, the blue-eyed boy didn't move from his spot, he merely sat up, stretching cattily. He sat, straddling Krns waist, inspecting the brown-eyed man intensely.

"...Where is Yohji?" Ken asked suddenly, diverting his gaze from the translucent red top that the boy wore, which occasionally allowed sight of the boy's chest. He wondered, vaguely, what girl's closet he had found it in.

"He is safe," the boy yawned. "But I have no wish to speak of him right now- not when I have such a delicious, half clothed male beneath me," Rio smiled cheerfully.

Narrowing his eyes, Ken shifted his hips in attempt to dislodge the unwelcome visitor, but it remained a fruitless attempt.

"I will leave when I am ready to leave," Rio informed him, playing idly with one of his braids.

Ken sighed in frustration. "What do you want?"

"Two things," the boy grinned, holding up two fingers as if Ken were some sort of idiot. "First, I would like to know how you plan to kill me."

"Heh," Ken laughed a little, sourly. "I'll tell ya when I know."

"Not even a clue?" the blue-eyed boy cocked his head to one side, looking vaguely crest-fallen. When Ken shook his head, Rio smiled and spoke up again. "I suggest acid. Hurts like hell, but it is very effective!"

"Why would you offer me tips?" Ken asked, frowning suspiciously.

"The second thing I want," Rio continued, ignoring Ken's question, "is a kiss."

"W-WHAT!" Ken shrieked, staring incredulously at the creature in his lap.

"Well, if it is not from you, I will retrieve it- and a little extra- from one of your other team mates," the boy informed him pleasantly.

When Ken scoffed, Rio raised an eyebrow. "You think I am lying?" he asked, slipping from Ken's lap to the door. "The blond is cute... he looks innocent enough. I do believe he will work quite nicely."

For a moment after the boy left, Ken lay there, staring at the doorway. After a moment he threw back the blankets and stalked to Omi's room, not even bothering to dress.

Pushing open the slightly ajar door, Ken stepped into Omi's room. Diskettes littered the blond's desk and a faint hum eminated from his computer, indicating that it had been left on. Walking in further he noticed that Omi slept soundly, his little green cap in his face.

Sighing in relief, Ken turned and headed back to his room. As he walked past Ran's room, however, he paused. An odd sound came from the room, a soft whisper and a slightly deeper voice responded. Opening the door, Ken peeked in to satisfy his curiousity.

"It does not hurt," an accented voice reached him.

Moonlight filtered through Ran's venitian blinds into the room, glowing eerily off a pool of thick, slightly grey blood. Ran had run Rio through with his katana, which still emerged from the blue-eyed boy's back. Rio wore a soft smile, still, both hands wrapped around Ran's hands.

With a cold look, Ran twisted the blade, which caused the smaller boy to cry out softly. Blood dribbled quickly down the blade into the pool of blood already soaking into the bed. Tears slipped from his eyes, then, dropping in to mix with the blood.

"It hurts now?" Ran's monotone asked.

"...It hurts now," Rio affirmed, bowing his head for a moment. "But even this pain will not kill me."

Ran shook his head. "You're dead now."

Pulling himself from the blade, Rio allowed Ran to watch as the wounds healed. The red-heads shock surprised Ken as he watched the scene continue to unfold.

Violet eyes met blue for a moment, a blue as clear as crystal, while at the same time being as fogged and mysterious as obsidian. Slipping from the bed, Rio walked to the door, offering a small smile.

"I will return for my kiss," he whispered and vanished, even before Ken could turn around.

"Aya...?" he asked hesitantly.

"That was... our ghost?" Ran asked, his voice vaguely different than usual.

"Yes, that was him," Ken sighed.

"How did he get in?"

"The hell if I know!" Ken growled, somewhat irritated.

This creep had molested two of his ousemates now, as well as himself, _and_ he had planned on returning for 'a kiss and a little extra' from one of them. Ken hoped feverently that it wasn't Omi.

"We'll tell Omi in the morning. Go back to bed, Ken."

Sighing, Ken headed for the door, then stopped. Rio stood at Ran's bedroom door, with a teddy bear under one arm. It took Ken a moment to realize this wasn't the seventeen year old who had just recently vanished from the house, but the wide-eyed ten year old currently occupying the couch downstairs.

"What's wrong, Rio-kun?" Ken asked, stepping out of Ran's room.

"...I thought... I felt someone calling me," the ten year old replied softly.

As their guest gazed confusedly down the dark hall, he frowned, his eyes assessing the shadows.

"No one called you, sweetie," Ken assured him, picking him up.

"He did, he was hurting!" the boy protested. Ken almost dropped him in surprise.

Could it be possible that the boy could feel when his counter-part drew near? This news certainly ranked highly on the list of 'best things that could possibly happen before breakfast.'

With a pleased smile, Ken carried the long haired boy back to the spare bedroom.

* * *

A/N: I just wanna apologize. I lied earlier on- but I do ask forgiveness. At the very beginning of this story I wasn't sure where I was going with it, but now that I've pretty much finished it I'd like to add that there are other characters that are copyright to me in this story, and two I'm pretty sure it's just two...who are copyright to Riisha. She's a doll letting me borrow them. Don't let out the secret, Rii-neesan. 


	6. Chapter Five

A Song For The Dead

"Rio! What on earth happened!" Yohji exclaimed as Rio re-entered his home.

Rio groaned softly. "Let it be known that your team-mates are not very friendly. Hot as hell, but not very friendly."

"Lemme guess, Aya tried to 'Shi-ne!' you."

"Grouchy redhead," Rio muttered.

"He's always like that," Yohji assured him. "You've got blood all over you... you should get cleaned up before Fox sees you."

Rio nodded a little, heading for the bathroom. Although healed, he could still feel the distinct feeling of metal sliding against his skin, through his chest. What disturbed him, though, was his indecision about the feeling. It hurt horribly, yes, but at the same time that pain, that small shadow of his lost humanity, his body craved.

Shaking his head, Rio knelt beside the bathtub, turning warm water on. Slipping out of his blood soaked clothing, he dumped them into the sink with a disturbing squish noise. Sighing, he pulled the beads from the ends of his braids and placed them on the counter.

Stepping into the tub, Rio pulled the knob that turned the running water into a shower. He stood for a while, not moving as the blood caked to his body slowly rinsed clean, leaving red trails on his body in all the small dips, around every curve as it made it's way to the tub.

_"Why are you so desperate for death?" _Yohji's voice echoed in his head from days before, with the rest of their discussion.

_"Six and a half hundred years of life and death is a long time..."_

_"...Are you really that old?"_

_"...Yes."_

_"...That's very difficult to believe."_

_"I already informed you of what we are. It is very plausible."_

_"...Why, then... why provoke my friends? Why them?"_

_"...You ask a lot of questions."_

_"I only ask when I feel I deserve to know."_

_"...your friend... entertains me. The brunette who believes he has the ability to kill me."_

_"He'll try."_

_"Perhaps he will succeed."_

_"...You're waiting for him to?"_

_"Yes."

* * *

_

"So... where do you want to go?" Ken asked as his team-mates sat at the kitchen table with their young guest.

The ten year old blinked absently at Ken, chewing on his pancakes happily. "Go?"

"Yeah... What place draws you?" Omi asked. After having been informed of the occurrences of the night before, he had been a bit miffed to find that no one saw fit to wake him up.

Now, however, he was more eager than ever to find the boy who had thrice been impaled, yet still left in one piece. The arrogance that their ghost showed in infiltrating their home, and leaving again without them gaining any sort of information about them irritated the young leader to no end.

With a bright smile, the boy finished his pancake and answered their question. "I'd like to visit Pappa if that's ok..."

Frowning, Ken and Omi looked at one another, but it was Ran who spoke in their silence. "Where is your Pappa?"

"A little outside of town," the child smiled. Although still at a loss, the other two nodded.

"Alright, let's go then," Omi smiled.

The drive out of town seemed to take forever due to the rain, the traffic and the weight of their anticipation on their minds. If it were for any other reason, Omi would have been enjoying the scenery, rain and all, but at the moment only their stranger seemed pleased.

The only thing Omi could think of as they drove was how to secure Yohji and eliminate an enemy that reportedly recovered quickly from inflicted wounds. Weiß currently were hoping against the odds that Rio would lead them to their freak of an opponent, and that last night's occurrence wasn't just a fluke.

"This is it!" the boy beside him piped up suddenly, and Ran pulled the vehicle over beside an empty plot of land.

Although the child looked a little disturbed, he hopped out of the car and onto the soaked sidewalk. The other occupants stepped out of the car quickly after him, watching as Rio attached himself to a pretty looking young girl with long brown hair who stood in the rain, gazing at the empty spot

Approaching them, Omi could hear them conversing softly.

"...He didn't tell me where he went, I assumed he would still be here," the girl sighed, picking the child up.

"...I didn't know he was gone either... but I bet I know how we can find him," Rio smiled, hugging the brunette with a smile.

If Yohji were around, Omi was sure he would be flirting- this friend of Rio's was rather attractive. She wasn't overly tall, or dainty, but she held herself in a very self-respecting manner. She had a sweet face, and beautiful green eyes full of curiousity and intelligence.

Inspecting her absently, Omi was soon startled by Ken clearing his throat beside him. The pair in front of them turned to look at him.

"Rio-kun... I thought you said your Pappa was here."

"Rio-kun... Who are these people?" the green-eyed girl blinked a little.

"Oh! Tousan, these are my friends..." Rio smiled happily, pointing to each of them. "Omi-san, Ken-san and Aya-san!"

Inspecting each of them for a moment, the brunette nodded. "Pleased to meet you."

A bit confused at the obviously female person allowing herself to be called 'tousan,' Omi questioned hesitantly. "You're... Rio-kun's Pappa?"

The girl laughed a bit. "No, no... I'm his Tousan. Ashiyama Kira."

Ken muttered a bit behind him, almost inaudible. "I'm confused, dunno 'bout the rest of ya..."

"Well..." Omi scratched at the back of his head a little, uncomfortably. "It's nice to meet you too, miss."

The green-eyed girl blinked a little, then grinned a little to herself. Turning back to the smaller boy, Kira crouched again, holding her hair so it didn't drag against the ground, but not seeming to care about the ground being wet and soaking through the knees of her jeans.

"Do you have any idea at all where he may have gone, sweety?"

"...Well... he _could_ be at work," the smaller boy said, thoughtfully.

"Since when did your Pappa work?" Kira blinked confusedly.

"...Since Daddy... since..." the boy sighed heavily, looking at the ground. "Pappa had a big fight with Tenji-oujisan... told him he didn't want his help anymore. So... he looked for a job and got one, then sent me back to my school," the boy's voice had become very soft, quite quickly as he spoke.

Weiß watched them converse in silence, not one of them sure what to say. As far as they knew, the child's parents had been killed by burglars not long ago, and he had become an orphan. Suddenly, though, not only did he have one father, but _two_, a mother and an uncle to boot!

"Your Daddy's ok now, though," Kira smiled. "He got better. Lets go find your Pappa and tell him the good news, what do you say?"

Smiling brightly, the smaller boy nodded. "Ok, I can take you there!"

"...Rio-kun?" Omi spoke up, catching the attention of the pair.

"Yes?"

"We can drive you and Kira-san if you'd like," Omi offered. "It's raining... it'd be horrible if you got sick."

Kira and Rio glanced at one another, then nodded.

"Thank you, Omi-san!" Rio smiled.

"Of course. Where are we going then?"

"Vinylla, down town."

Both Ken and Kira blinked.

"...Vin... ylla?" Kira asked, slowly.

Blinking, Omi glanced to his best friend. "What?"

"Omi... Vinylla is a gay bar for foreigners. Jobs in that place are things like... exotic dancing and prostitution..."

"Rio doesn't do things like that," Kira mumbled, "it's not his style... he... wouldn't..."

Ran looked over at Kira. "Minamoto Rio? Is he your Pappa?"

The smaller boy nodded a bit.

"Let's go... please..." Kira said, somewhat hurriedly.

* * *

And thus the entrance of Kira. Such a luffly character. -Toodles off to do other things- 


	7. Chapter Six

A Song For The Dead

"Hey Rio?" Yohji called from the spare bedroom of Rio's third floor apartment.

"Yes?" Rio asked, stepping in while pulling on his trench coat.

"Who are all of these people?" Yohji gestured to the seven frames lining one wall of the room.

"...My family," Rio sighed, sitting on the futon in the room.

"...There are so many of them... these pictures are so new."

"..." With a heavy sigh, Rio stood again, starting from the left most picture on the wall. "These two girls are my sisters, Tethus and Tiamat, and the boy is my first boyfriend, Kilo," Rio explained, running a finger lightly along the frame. Moving on, he began again. "My youngest sibling Nami, and her husband Tenji... my ex's elder brother."

"She's adorable..." Yohji smiled.

"I know," Rio smiled back. "This is my best friend, Simone and her husband, Leone..."

"...They aren't human," Yohji frowned.

"Good eye. They're not human at all. Did Simone's hair give it away?" the blue-eyed boy asked, referring to the girl's long white hair.

"...That was part of it," Yohji scratched his head.

"Simone is a Harpy. Leone is a Fairy, which is why he is so much taller than she is," Rio informed him. Moving to the next picture, Rio smiled fondly. "This is my son, with Kilo... They got along quite well," he stroked the picture absently.

"He's cute," Yohji laughed, "looks just like you."

"Well he should. He is my reincarnation."

"...Reincarnation is real? I mean... It doesn't just end when you die?" Yohji asked incredulously.

"No, you are reincarnated as soon as all of your self can be collected again. Once your spirit passes on, it only takes a couple months until you are in a womb again. We have been studying it quite extensively," Rio explained.

"I... see. Well, at least that explains the similarities," Yohji sighed.

Nodding, Rio continued on to the next few pictures. "These are my kids... They were in Nami's orphanage... so I... sort of adopted them. I am a horrible sucker for kids," he rubbed at his arm sheepishly.

When it appeared as though his companion planned to leave, Yohji stopped him, pointing to the last two pictures.

"Rio... who are these people?"

Appearing rather tense, Rio approached the wall and took both pictures down, making an effort not to look at either one as he set them face down on a table. Looking tearfully at Yohji, he whispered.

"Please... never ask me about those people again," he spoke so softly that Yohji had to strain to hear him.

Finally, the boy left for work, leaving Yohji alone with his thoughts, questions and those pictures. Slowly picking on up, he gazed into the laughing green eyes of a man with long brown hair, who sat on a bed making a monkey face with Rio's son.

Setting it back down, face down, he reached for the second picture. In it sat an angel- he could have sworn it was. Gentle blue eyes looked sleepily at the child who slept in his lap; black hair fell messily about his face and large, gorgeous white wings wrapped protectively around the pair.

The guardian angel and the playful monkey. "Who are you?"

* * *

Omi and Rio sat in Ran's porche as the older three headed into Vinylla. Ken glanced briefly at Kira as the shorter girl laughed sourly.

"What?"

"I told myself a long time ago... I'd never come into a place like this again... but here I am anyway," she sighed.

Ran took off into the crowd in search of their prey and Kira noticed, immediately pulling Ken to the side and watching him intensely. "So, what is it with you people anyway? What do you want with Rio?"

Caught off-guard, Ken stared at her. "Wh-what? What makes you think we have any want for him? Rio-kun said he wanted to visit his Pappa, so we're just ge-"

"Cut the bull," the long haired girl said seriously. "I'm not an idiot. I saw the katana under that man's jacket, and I noticed the release on your gloves earlier. If you plan to hurt either of them..." her eyes narrowed dangerously, her voice low.

Opening his mouth to speak, both were startled out of their stand-off by a loud clatter elsewhere in the bar. "H-hey! Save that for... STOP!" a voice yelped and the pair headed in the direction of the noise.

An auburn haired man had pulled one of the waiters - a small blond boy - into his lap, and was holding him tightly to his body. People were urging him on as one of his hands crept slowly up the inside of the European's thigh. Another person quickly pushed himself into the ring, approaching the pair.

"Himura-san, Yaori-san is right," he said, reaching for the blonds arm, "save it for the hookers. If you continue to molest waiters, I am sure the owner will not be pleased with you."

The newcomer then dragged Yaori away. Himura sniffed irritably. "You got somethin' up yer ass today, Arazi?"

A blue-eyed gaze turned to him again. "Not today, Himura-san."

"You want somethin' up it? Would that make you less pissy?" Himura grinned.

Arazi approached Himura again, suddenly stepping into a spot where both brunettes could see him. Simultaneously the paired called out as the figure stood uncomfortably close to the dauntingly tall man.

"Rio!" Arazi froze, turning to look for the voices.

"Arazi, is that a yes?" Himura looked slightly surprised, but pleased nonetheless.

Not seeing either brunette in the crowd, Arazi turned his attention back to Himura. "I told you to save it for the hookers, do I look like a hooker to you?"

"Pretty 'nuff," Himura grinned drunkenly, reaching towards Arazi's waist.

Slapping his hands away, Arazi walked off. "Try it and you will lose the parts you need to screw anything at all."

"Sheesh," Himura muttered, taking his seat again, "touchy Spaniard."

Pushing through the crowd, Kira and Ken made their way to the bar, the direction the possible Rio clone had vanished into. Sitting down, they watched Arazi's back for a moment.

Prodding Ken, Kira whispered. "So call him!"

"Me! You know him better!" Ken protested in a whisper of his own.

"You first!"

"Not happening! You first!"

"...Can I help you?" a voice asked, and the arguing pair looked up.

"...Rio..." Kira breathed out, finally.

"...Kira," Arazi responded. "And my murderer. How appropriate. A date?"

"...What _is _your problem, anyway?" Kira frowned. "You're not talking to Tenji, you vanished from our place, the rancher was demolished and didn't even _once_ come to visit Yukichi in the hospital! And now look at you!" the green-eyed girl ranted.

"...You are really one to talk, Kira," Arazi shook his head, turning away. "Besides, this isn't the place for this discussion."

"Then we'll take it outside," Kira said, grabbing the braided boy's wrist and yanking him towards the door.

* * *

Exams, exams, I've already prewritten this chapter, luckily... or this wouldn't be posted until July


	8. Chapter Seven

A Song For The Dead

Rio and Kira stood in the rain, Rio looking irritated, and Kira frustrated. Unlike the other two, Ran and Ken stood in the doorway of Vinylla, out of the rain, watching the quarrel.

"Back off, Kira! I'm not coming back this time!" Rio's formal Japanese swung to a far less formal way of speaking.

"Why do you always do this, Rio? You come and go as you please, with little or no warning..." Kira sighed, reaching for the taller boy's hand.

Pulling away, Rio hugged himself. "Kira, stop trying to save me. You always come... to stop me, to protect me... when will it be enough? I can save myself! I can look after myself! I'm not helpless anymore!"

With another soft sigh, Kira moved to hug the braided boy, despite his trying to pull away. After a couple moments of struggling, Rio gave in, slowly wrapping his arms around the younger girl. Laying his head on Kira's, Rio clutched at her shirt.

"You aren't helpless... I never thought, or said that you were," Kira mumbled softly. "...I just worry about you... I worry... because I love you..."

"Please, Kira... don't..."

An extra body suddenly attached itself to Rio's leg, and the taller boy looked down to find his son grinning up at him. "Pappa! We found you! You vanished and we looked all over and I got worried that we wouldn't see you again because we didn't know where you were but we found you!" the boy bubbled happily.

Moving away from Kira, Rio knelt to hug the much smaller child. "Hello to you too," he smiled, albeit hollowly

As the trio fell into silence, Omi walked over to his team-mates. Seeing humanity in his opponents made him uncomfortable, especially when that opponent had a family like he did; a family that searched when he went missing, and sympathized with him when he needed the understanding.

Nonetheless, he had hurt Yohji and kidnapped him, as well as heavens knew what else, and he had harassed the other two members of his team. Glancing at his team-mates, Omi noticed the firm expressions on their faces. They weren't feeling the same sympathy for them that he felt. This time, however, it didn't matter what he thought or felt. He had been given his orders - now was the time to execute them.

Turning to the trio who stood in the rain, he sighed. They didn't seem like they deserved the trauma of a lost loved one in their lives, but there existed a monster in their midst. His shoulders drooping slightly in submission, Omi approached the trio, wrinkling his nose at the raindrops dripping onto his face and hair.

"Excuse me..." he said softly. Glancing over, the braided boy frowned for a moment, then stepped away from his family, turning towards Weiß with his hands in front of him.

"You found me, so... shall we settle this?"

Kira and the younger Rio watched in confusion as the taller boy moved away. Carefully inspecting the braided boy's expression as he approached, Omi nodded absently, gesturing to his team-mates, then to the other boy. All four of them headed to the car.

"Rio..." Kira frowned, moving forward to grab Rio's wrist.

"I can't, Kira. Please don't ask me to come back," Rio sighed, not looking at Kira.

"I can't not ask you to. Yukichi misses you horribly. If he could have... I'm sure he would be here right now, dragging you back home with us," Kira reached up, turning Rio by his shoulder to face her. "...Yukichi... he's ok, Rio... He's recovering quickly, he's even been complaining that I'm being lazy again... and he's been coming to work more often..."

Looking at Kira, Rio's entire expression changed suddenly. First surprise, then absolute delight crossed his face; however, the look quickly faded to a frown. "...Liar. They said he wouldn't make it. I _saw_ his injures! He couldn't have... he couldn't have made it. I... never thought you would use such a dirty card, Kira," looking away in disgust, Rio shook his head. "I had thought you were above that."

Kira opened her mouth to speak, but Ran intervened, hauling the braided boy to the car. Watching, Kira found herself baffled. She couldn't figure out for the life of her what had just happened, but the small creature tugging at her shirt made Kira follow.

"Tousan... tousan... they took Pappa... We have to go get Pappa!" the ten year old informed her, trying desperately to drag Kira down the street after them.

As the rain fell more heavily, Kira knelt down to hug the boy gently. The owner of the bar stepped out in search of Rio and Kira softly informed him that there was an emergency, and that Rio wouldn't return today.

And although she knew better than most of Rio's immortality, deep inside she feared that Rio just might not return at all.

* * *

Darkness surrounded him as Weiß locked him in a small room. He had no idea where he was, nor what they planned, but Ken had given him a rather cold hint that they had figured out what to do with him. 

He had recently found a corner in his room, and had curled up in it, waiting for them to begin whatever they had in store.

Elsewhere in the building, Omi sat with his head in his hands. He hadn't felt this much hesitation since he had encountered his brother on a mission that seemed as if it were centuries ago. He questioned his every right to kill; he questioned how many families had lost their only means of support due to Weiß.

Looking around, he couldn't see Ken or Ran anywhere. Glancing down a large, empty hall, he hesitantly made his way to his feet and walked to the door at the end.

_Besides, _he thought, _there are a lot of questions I need answered._

Light trickled slowly into the room, much to Rio's relief. His eyes had time to adjust to the light as a boy entered the room. Closing the door behind him, he lit a candle and sat in front of Rio with a sad smile.

"...Afternoon."

"..." Rio remained silent, gazing absently at the blond. He looked a little like Yukichi. The way his hair sat over his face resembled Yukichi's, and his eyes were similar to Yukichi's, though Yukichi's weren't as wide as this boy's.

With a sigh, Omi shook his head. "...I'd like to ask some questions of you, if you don't mind..."

"Questions? What questions?" Rio asked with a soft sigh, lowering his gaze to the flame.

"...I want to know... why? Why would you hurt so many innocent people if you have such a loving family? Why would you want to do something like that?"

Rio laughed softly. "...The constant question of the young: Why.

"Have you ever been in love? So much in love that you always felt like the one you loved would leave you one day for needing them too much? So much that every minute without them spanned centuries?"

Looking a little shocked, Omi nodded. "...Once, yes."

"That is why. Because I loved someone. I loved more than one someone. But one of them was fragile, mortal. Some stupid teenagers... they raced down the streets without a care for anyone else, and they took him away from me.

"Why? ...They had no reason for their actions. So, why am I punished for doing what they do, when they have as little reason for their actions as I?" Looking up, Omi noticed the way the flames danced in the revealing blue eyes of their 'ghost'.

"The truth is... I have done this since before you were born. Since before the mainlanders ever landed on Japan. I have done this since the thirteen hundreds. I let myself be discovered now - that is the only difference."

"...I don't understand how that's possible... That would make you... at least six hundred years old..." Omi stared blankly at him.

Watching the blonds expression with a look of detachment, Rio nodded. "Yes, six hundred and sixty seven. However, only six hundred and fifty of those years were spent living off of human blood. It was never my decision, and if I could have died centuries ago, I would have preferred that to being what I am..." looking at the flame again, Rio laughed softly. "Kira would kill me if he had heard that... I can hear it already... 'Then you wouldn't have met Yukichi and me! Don't you like us anymore?' and he'd pout childishly."

Suddenly, Omi stood, causing Rio's eyes to rise to look at the boy again. "That's why you didn't die... You're a vampire!"

"Yes, I am. As is your friend, Yohji. Well, not quite yet he isn't... soon though."

"...Yohji-kun... he let you?" Omi frowned suddenly.

"Yes, he said he would help me..."

"...This is all wrong," Omi said, turning and fleeing the room suddenly.

Rio watched as he fled, and although he heard no locking of the door, he didn't move from his spot. And even as explosions went off in the building, and smoke penetrated into his room, he remained still.

The fire flicked high into the sky, despite the rain, and Ken had a tight grip on Omi as he fought for freedom. He had come to stop his team-mates, but they wouldn't listen to him.

* * *

Finally got around to updating something... Just not inspired recently, I guess... Which isn't an excuse for this one since it's already prewritten. Bleh... 


	9. Chapter Eight

A Song For The Dead

Explosions caught the attention of various people in town - among them was a black haired boy, who carefully perched at a safe distance from the scene on a rooftop. Kira had also found her way to the scene, and insisted on getting a closer look for the people who had kidnapped her boyfriend. Kira scoured the crowd below in search of the group.

"Daddy...?" Rio spoke up softly from his spot nestled in one of black haired man's wings.

"...Yes?" he asked absently, blue eyes searching for Rio in the mess of moving forms below them.

"Pappa's going to be ok, right? He won't have to go to the hospital away for months like you did, right?"

"Honestly, Rio-kun, I can't tell you. I don't know where he is right now..."

As the firemen loaded out of the vehicle and began to spray down the abandoned warehouse, people stared. Something rather impossible was occurring. The rain and the water from the hoses were moving away from where they were being aimed to a spot at the back of the building. Yukichi and Rio watched carefully as a large blanket formed over the top of the warehouse, made entirely of water.

A woman shrieked suddenly, and people began to run. The fire danced and burned, the building crumbled, and the water, a large thick slab floating in the sky, crashed down on the building.

He couldn't help but laugh absently. "Well, at least we know you're Pappa's there. He could use to be a little more subdued about his use of things like that, though..."

Rio laughed somewhere from amongst his feathers. "Pappa wanted to make it big. I mean, if you're going to do it anyway, why not just go all out?"

The few people that remained watched as a rather burnt figure emerged from the building, the fire had vanished in the water like a sandcastle under a wave. Wrapping his arms around Rio, the man flew them to a small ally, and then Rio assisted his daddy in walking towards the building, once he had retracted his wings.

Even as Rio walked, wounds on his body healed, where skin had burnt away, it slowly began to grow back, where hair had singed into non-existence, it began to grow back, but his recovery had become a very slow process due to the amount of damage his body had taken.

Gazing through clouded eyes at the people in front of the building, Rio hugged himself slowly. Too much of his skin had burned away, and it wasn't healing fast enough. He could feel the bones of his arm bared to his touch, as well as the soft balloon-like feeling of his stomach in his hand.

Choking softly, he dropped to his knees, though he didn't end up on them. A person beside him held him up, though he couldn't see the person at all, just a blurry form. A second person appeared to his other side.

"Rio-san..." a strange, yet vaguely familiar voice whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop them... They wouldn't listen to me," he whispered, and Rio began to realize it was that same blond who had confronted him before.

To his other side, he didn't even need to guess who it was. The body felt too familiar. Hard muscles, long hair, soft skin - Kira.

"...I need to take him home now," Kira said softly, and a bit icily to Omi, who merely nodded.

"I can help-"

"I think you've helped enough," another voice interjected.

"Please leave, Omi-san," the youngest of the boys there requested, as he held his daddy up.

That was the last Rio heard before he lost consciousness.

"Please," Omi pleaded, his eyes tearing up. "I understand now... I understand so well... I... I tried to stop them... I didn't want... I didn't want this to happen! I just want to help..."

The crowd of people had vanished in the smoke left behind of the smouldering building, though they could be heard faintly on phones calling nine-one-one, although the emergency had ended.

Yukichi allowed his wings to re-emerge after a moment, and flared them again, moving slowly away from the younger Rio, Yukichi approached the small blond. At first greatly startled and intimidated by the wings, it took a moment for Omi to divert his attention back to his original quest. The look in the black-haired man's eyes, though, was a cold one, biting and cruel. Omi couldn't hold his gaze, instead looking down.

"...I understand that you want to help, but frankly, I don't care. You've done enough, and what you need to do now, is leave. Kira and I can take care of Rio," he said, his voice colder than Omi had ever heard Ran's in that moment.

Kira moved the unconscious Rio away from Omi quickly, and the blonde boy could do nothing but watch as the obviously injured creature took the braided boy in his arms. "I'll get him home as fast as I can, Kira, Rio-kun. I'll see you there, alright?"

The pair nodded, and with a flap of his wings, Yukichi vanished into the night. Kira and his younger companion began to walk off out of the smoke, and Omi followed for a short time, before he suddenly lunged forward to hug a figure standing off to the side.

"Yohji-kun!"

The wavy haired man nearly toppled over at the sudden weight on his chest, but managed to catch the boy, smiling a bit.

"Well, if it isn't that far off memory that I haven't seen in some time. Been a while, chibi..."

"Are you ok, Yohji-kun? I mean... it's been... a while..."

Yohji laughed, ruffling the smaller blonde's hair a bit. "I'm fine, chibi, just hungry. I have to find mas - erk... Rio. I have to find Rio."

Kira and the small blue-eyed boy accompanying her both paused at that, blinking.

"...Excuse me, were you just about to say 'Master'?" Kira asked absently.

"...No. No, no, no damnit... It keeps slipping out!" Yohji muttered a bit.

"..." Kira sighed a little. "You might as well come with us, then, if it's Rio you're calling master. He can't feed you right now, though, he's lost too much blo -" Kira paused suddenly, turning to Omi. "You said you wanted to help?"

Omi nodded. "Of course."

"...Come with us..."

* * *

"Omi should be here by now," Ken fretted absently. 

"...He's fine."

"What if he went back in to try and help that murderer?" Ken continued to fret.

"...He's fine, Ken."

"And then he would have gotten stuck in there, trying to undo the metal lock with bare hands... the fire would have heated it up, and he'd burn his hands. He... he probably didn't give up... I mean, Omi isn't like that; he doesn't just give up... what if the whole building collapsed on him and-"

"KEN!"

Ken jumped a little and looked at Ran.

"Omi is fine. He's probably just talking to the firemen about what he supposedly saw, to distract them from what actually happened."

"I hope... you're right," Ken sighed. "Maybe we should have just listened to him. I mean... he obviously had something he wanted to say."

"Hn," Ran reached his word limit of the day, and pulled a book up in front of his nose.

Ken vanished up to his room to continue his worrying in private. Seating himself on his bed, he reached into the drawer beside his bed to pull out a small picture. This very picture had gotten him in to a relationship he had loved, and the contents of this picture had broken that relationship up.

With a sigh, Ken hugged the picture to his chest and stared at the ceiling. "Please be ok, Omi... please, please be ok."

* * *

It was green. Everywhere. That was the only thought that either Weiß boy could manage as they looked around Kira's flat. They followed the brunette absently as Rio's son disappeared into a room that might have been a kitchen, or maybe a bathroom - who really knew? 

Both Weiß members were temporarily distracted from their musings as Kira pulled her shirt off. Yohji immediately reached to cover Omi's eyes, while staring absently. "Not around the kids, miss!"

It took a minute and a blank look from Kira for Yohji to realize a very important observation. Kira had no breasts. In fact, Kira also had a rather masculine waist line.

"...You... you're not a girl..."

"...How very astute of you," Kira snorted, then hit himself a bit. Vanishing off into a room, probably to change into a less bloody set of clothing, Kira left the others alone to their musings.

Minamoto Rio lay on the couch of the living room, unconscious. Yohji, upon recovering from his odd revelation, immediately knelt by his side, very near Yukichi, and looked over the still burnt body. Omi stood back a bit, though also examining the body sadly.

He had gotten so used to everyone saying the boy couldn't be killed - Ken had impaled him, Ran had impaled him, and he had still survived - and yet here he lay, prone and weak, utterly helpless. Had he never seen gore before, the sight might have made him vomit.

His skin really had burned to non-existence. Here and there patches of burnt skin still clung to bloodied bone, and most of his inner body was exposed, he could see things one normally only saw in school video's and cheesy horror movies.

Every now and then, his body shuddered slightly, and he let out a soft rasp that indicated he was breathing, but he couldn't seem to move. Wincing a bit at the sight, Kira gestured Omi over as he returned, holding a rather sharp looking knife.

A bit cynical, Omi walked slowly towards Kira, skittish and ready to bolt at any sign of danger. He handed the knife over to Omi, making the blond blink.

"...He needs blood. I can't feed him, vampire blood. Same goes for that friend of yours. Yukichi also has different blood. It's not as healthy. We can't feed him Rio-kun's blood... he's too young, he needs all the blood he can keep," Kira sighed. "To heal quickly, properly... he needs blood."

Yohji sat silently to the side, somewhat disturbed by the sight of the boy he had always expected to be on top of things in this utterly helpless state. Quietly, he asked the only thing he could possibly utter at the moment, his head filled with each of the little memories that had been passed on from Rio when the boy turned him.

"...How did this happen?"

Omi winced at Yohji's question, quickly slitting his wrist, with an obviously guilty look, and holding it over the unconscious boy's mouth. At first it only dribbled into his mouth, and Rio was unresponsive to it, but slowly his body began to move.

Slowly, he drank in the blood, and - as Kira had said - it made a noticeable difference in the boy's recovery time. His skin recovered more quickly, covering his shoulders in a minute, then over his chest and arms, up his throat jaw and face. In a strange sort of fascination, he made another cut on his wrist, deeper this time, allowing more blood to flow.

Yukichi's former looks of disgust towards the blond had vanished into a forlorn look at the still unconscious boy. Kira gently placed a hand on the back of Omi's, and then pulled it away, wrapping a cloth around it.

"He needs more!" Omi protested softly, holding his head with one hand.

"You can't give him any more... The amount he needs is still more than you contain in your entire body. This is enough for now... You should go home," Kira sighed.

"...Yohji-kun?" Omi asked softly.

Kira glanced at Yohji, whose gaze had moved to the floor. "Perhaps I should stay here, just tonight... if that's alright, Kira?" Yohji looked up.

Both green-eyed boys blinked.

"...I'm sorry. You _are_ Kira, right?"

Kira nodded a bit. "It's fine. You can stay... but just for tonight. I'll feed you for now, I suppose... Rio's not quite capable right now..."

Omi sighed heavily. "Alright. I'll tell you tomorrow what happened, Yohji-kun."

Standing, Omi bowed deeply to Kira and Yukichi. "I hope... you can forgive me for what happened. I hadn't intended for it to be this way."

The pair nodded absently, and Yukichi moved to take over Kira's abandoned spot beside Rio's head. He hovered there protectively while Kira escorted Omi to the door.

* * *

Hm... That took too long to update... I need to be hit... I gotta learn to update faster... urk.. 


	10. Chapter Nine

A Song For The Dead

When Omi arrived home, he walked right past his team-mates who sat in the living room. Ken winced as he heard Omi stomp up the stairs, and he could only imagine that Omi would fall through the floor if he stomped any harder - like in those silly anime he watched as a kid, it just wouldn't be as amusing. With a heavy sigh, Ken rose to his feet and walked towards the stairs.

Approaching the boy's door, he hesitated and then knocked, letting himself into the room. Omi didn't acknowledge him as he stepped in; in fact, he didn't respond to him at all until he reached out to touch the boy's shoulder.

"Don't," he stated firmly, turning slightly on the bed to glare at Ken.

"Omi, I just-"

"Don't even bother, Ken-kun," Omi shook his head.

"Please, Omi, just tell me what's on your mind," Ken sighed, sitting at the edge of the blonde's bed.

Moving away from Ken on the bed, Omi shook his head. However, with a bit of persuasion from his normally less than focused friend, Omi submitted.

"Ken-kun, if I were to die, what would happen to you?"

"...I would be very upset, I'd miss you horribly," Ken sighed a little. "As cheesy as it sounds, I doubt I'd ever be the same."

"...And if... we weren't just friends, Ken-kun? If, perhaps, we were so deeply in love that we would sit around all day just watching one another move, cherishing every second..." Omi looked at the brunette. "If we were so much in love that were practically the batteries to one another's very existence... what would happen to you if I died?"

"I suppose..." Ken started slowly, thinking deeply about the question, "I would die with you."

The pair sat in silence for a moment as Omi considered his response, then spoke. "That's what Rio did..." he said softly, looking at Ken. "Except, he is immortal, and couldn't die with the man he held so dear."

Blinking, Ken cocked his head to one side. "That's why you wanted to save him. He just..." Trailing off, the brunette looked ill suddenly.

Omi watched as the brown-eyed boy stood and left the room. This was the price they paid for not asking questions; they were haunted by the guilt of hundreds of 'what-if's which plague their minds.

Laying down the blond closed his eyes. The irony of his questions, though, sat at the front of his mind- he and Ken had been that sappy once. They had grown apart over time, though, due to Ken's growing detachment from the world, and Omi's insecurity about relationships.

Letting his mind wander away from that topic, he allowed himself to succumb to a guilt plagued dream world.

Staring blankly, Ken watched his own reflection. His hair hung in messy wet strands around his face, while his brown-eyed gaze watched him accusingly. His reflection hated him; he could hear the voice of the man in the mirror as he stood there.

"Murderer, destroyer of dreams, breaker of homes and hearts. Hard to believe you can stand here and look at me - at the person you are! - without becoming ill."

Shaking his head, Ken looked down and began wrapping a towel around his waist. Once he had covered himself decently he headed to his room, avoiding his mess on his way to the semi-tidy bed. Laying down he gazed absently at the stucco ceiling, deep in though.

He didn't like Rio, there existed no simpler thought than that, so when Ran told him that Omi's decisions were being too easily influenced by his emotions, he had readily agreed to set of to explosives as soon as Omi exited the building. It had been difficult to think that Rio could be anything but a conceited, arrogant jerk. And still, as usual, Omi saw deeper than that, through the mask that a broken heart put up to shield himself.

There lie the difference between leaders and everyone else. They asked the right questions, and gave the right answers. They read between the lines and saw things not for what they appeared to be- but for what they had the ability to be. The reason he respected Omi so much in that position couldn't have been simpler.

Or more difficult.

It had initially sparked affection between them that had led them to be so Harlequin that the pair had no need to sleep together- as Yohji had frequently joked about. Everything they had wrapped around the strength Omi showed as a leader while that string stayed in place by the glue of their childhood dependence on people to look out for them.

It also broke them apart. It, like Rio, was a mere mask that Omi put up to hide his insecurity. Too many lives, too much blood, and a highway of mistakes and broken glass proved enough to finally show Ken the truth behind Omi's mask- and stopped him from caring about the support the teen needed.

If back in the Harlequin days anyone had asked him what his greatest memory was, he would have confided in them his memories of the water fight the pair had had long ago, in a time before Yohji and Ran. His memories of a young, drenched Omi throwing down the hose to jump on him, making him equally wet, and twice as dirty.

Asking that question now, though, he knew that wouldn't be the same answer. His fondest memories, and disturbing as they were, were memories of blood, death and missions. The adrenaline rush of the kill, and the ever waiting anticipation for the chance. And if one of his team-mates died...

They wouldn't die. They were special like that. Immortal.

"...If Rio can die, the rest of us are just as likely to come to an end, Ken-kun..." Omi's voice whispered from the bedroom door.

Sitting up, Ken blinked in surprise at the boy standing at the door. "Omi... what are you doing here?"

"...Listening to you talk to yourself about some of the best times of my life, apparently," Omi murmured a bit.

"...It's six am, shouldn't you be asleep?"

"...It's six am, I'm never asleep at six," Omi sighed. "You should know that... You used to try and make me stay in bed, remember?"

Shaking his head, Ken looked away. "Omi, I don't care to remember those days."

"Strange to hear when I can walk by and listen to you reminisce about those very days."

"I think you should leave."

Omi shot him a somewhat irritated look. "I think so too; I don't know how comfortable I feel in the bedroom of a man who lives for death."

And with that, the boy turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

_The car accident was all over the news and radio stations. Watching in horror, a pair of teenage boys could do nothing as police, firemen and medics rushed to the scene, holding them back._

_Ten people died instantly and two were in critical condition after a pair of joyriding teenagers ran a red light collided with two other vehicles, soon causing a pile-up including six cars - two sports cars, one truck and three cars. The medics wouldn't allow the teenagers to get past the yellow tape, insisting that the cars might explode at any second._

_When everything ended, the flashing lights vanished, leaving one teenager in darkness. The second had headed to the hospital as quickly as he could - but the first found himself unable to move, numb with grief and fear. His boyfriend, his lover, and the "Daddy" to their adopted son had been rushed away in an ambulance._

_He had never seen so much blood before in his life; the thought scared him since his entire life had provided plenty of blood for him. But this... this was the time he hated that blood most. This time everything depended on that blood stopping, on that blood not spilling._

_And so he sat in the darkness. The road had been cleared of blood, but the image had burned into his memory, as if it had been imprinted on his eyes - everything he could see. He fed on weakness - but now, in the presence of so much, it overwhelmed him breaking down every barrier of sanity that existed in his body._

_He didn't remember walking to the hospital, nor did he care how he got there, but he found himself fighting with the doctors, begging them to let him see one of the two people in critical condition - the one who needed to live. The only one that he needed to live._

_"We can't let anyone in! He's in surgery, we can't allow anyone to interfere, or he'll _die_!"_

_The word echoed painfully and he found himself numb again. People hauled him out of the hospital again, leaving him on the front step of the Emergency wing. And so he watched in disgusted fascination as his sanity, the already too often repaired glass of his soul, shattered into innumerable pieces._

_Without properly registering it, he released all the voices of doubt and guilt that resided within his mind. Voices accused him of murder, of evil- they even went so far as to scold him for his love of men._

_His optimism, as far as he knew, had died in that building behind him, and he had been utterly helpless to stop it - to save him. Just like last time; just like Kilo. And now, it was the only chance he had left to save Kira - he had to leave. If he didn't leave, the darkness that followed him would devour Kira, too._

_So he ran. He ran down streets of black-ice, with no destination in mind. He had to go to the furthest possible place from Kira, he would have to send his son away, too, it was the only choice he had._

_Tenji scolded him for it - he was being silly, why would darkness follow him? - but he refused to listen. Tenji didn't know. Tenji didn't understand. Tenji had to be safe from him too - he would learn to take care of himself._

_He left everyone he cared for, then. His son went to a school far away; his pseudo brother had been convinced that he hated him, and his lover... His Kira... would never find him. Where he went he knew Kira would never search._

_Where he went, he wouldn't care for anyone enough to let them be hurt. Where he went, he wasn't required to love._


	11. Finale pt1

A Song For The Dead

Finale pt.1

Yukichi watched over Rio worriedly as Kira placed a cold cloth over his forehead. They weren't sure how, or why, but the eldest vampire's temperature had suddenly sky-rocketed in the middle of the night. Yohji and the younger Rio sat to the side out of the way, not sure how to help, but determined to stay out of their way as the other pair worked.

Rio moaned softly in his sleep, his brow creasing a bit as they attempted to bring his temperature down. Suddenly cursing, Kira turned to Yukichi.

"Go fill the bathtub with cold water."

Nodding, Yukichi vanished off, hobbling slightly on his bad leg. Turning to the other pair, Kira looked directly at the ten year old in the room.

"Rio-kun, I need you to go next door and stay there for a while, alright?" When the boy had left, Kira continued. "In my room on my dresser there's a little bottle of a clear liquid. Drink it. Then go find him someone to feed off of."

He left no room for question, and Yohji recognized that tone of voice as a direct order, quickly vanishing off to do as Kira asked. Scooping the nearly weightless boy up, Kira carried him to the bathroom and laid him in the cold water filling up the bath.

"Kira... Rio shouldn't be getting ill. Aren't you immune to illness?" Yukichi asked, a bit worried.

"I think it's the blood loss," Kira sighed. "The blood heals us; the blood works our immune system. I'm guessing that without it... his immune system flopped."

Nodding, Yukichi went to the bathroom door. "I'm going to call Midori-san and see if she has any idea what else to do..."

With an absent nod in response, Kira picked up a sponge and allowed it to fill with water, then squeezed it over the parts of Rio's body that weren't submerged. The injured boy slowly ceased his moaning, and his face calmed, relaxed a little even, as his body temperature began to drop, slowly.

Kira sighed slightly in relief and stroked Rio's still not entirely healed face.

"K... Kira..." he murmured softly, his fingers gently making a fist, before his fingers uncurled again. Smiling softly, he placed a light kiss on Rio's forehead.

Kira couldn't help but remember a discussion of theirs from long ago at that moment. Normally, the thought wouldn't have come to mind - it wasn't his favourite memory - but seeing the older boy in a state so far from his usual adorable and cuddly self had wedged the thought to the front of his mind.

_"I wonder if I'll get facial hair..." the braided boy made a face. "Oh I hope not... That would be horrible..."_

_"That's why there's shaving, Rio," Kira laughed, nuzzling the boy's cheek a little._

_"I'd still have a prickly face," Rio wrinkled his nose a little. "...And I'd probably cut myself, and the cuts wouldn't go away right away... and..." he frowned._

_"So it won't go away for a while. It will eventually," Kira smiled. "And even so, we can survive shaving cuts."_

_"Do you suppose... if I were mortal again... my scars would come back?" Rio asked suddenly, looking quite worried._

_"...No. I don't," he stroked over the blue-eyed boy's back lightly, "they've already healed over after all. I don't see it being possible that they'd come back."_

_Smiling a bit, Rio kissed his cheek. "I'm glad."_

_"...Even if they did come back, you know what? I wouldn't care," Kira smiled back, leaning against the taller boy._

"Kira!"

"Huh?" Kira looked up suddenly, snapping to attention.

"Geez, I called you three times!" Yukichi sighed a bit. "I wish you'd pay more attention."

"...Sorry..." Kira murmured a bit, looking back towards Rio.

"...We should take him out before he gets too cold," Yukichi said. "Midori-san suggested it."

"Alright," Kira sighed, pulling the plug.

Even as the water drained out, Kira reached in to lift the boy up, while Yukichi wrapped a towel around the injured boy's chilled body. The boy shook lightly in Kira's arms, shivering from cold.

Yukichi took Rio from Kira, wincing a little at the extra weight on his bad leg, and carried the boy back to the couch, wrapping him in blankets to help warm him up again. The fever had broken and the boy was merely cold now.

Kira stood in the doorway to the bathroom, watching Yukichi fuss over Rio's blankets. The black-haired teen carefully tucked the blankets around Rio, then folded back the top, then suddenly shook his head and went to tuck the blanket under Rio's feet as well.

By the time he had set the blankets up the way he wanted them, Yohji had returned with a middle-aged male. Blinking in confusion, Kira watched Yohji lead the still conscious man over to the unconscious, cocooned Rio.

Handing over a knife to the man, he slit his wrist, and did as Yohji instructed, placing the wrist over the injured vampire's mouth.

"...What...?" Kira mumbled his question.

Yohji looked up and smiled sourly. "He volunteered. I guess we're assisting his suicide."

Kira frowned darkly, but Yukichi gestured to the man's expression of delight and Kira's original hesitation subsided. Apparently the man had taken interest in how his blood sped up the healing time of the boy.

Soon, Rio's unconscious form stirred, reaching to hold the wrist to his mouth. The skin over his face had finally finished regenerating, and the burn scars were slowly beginning to diminish. Creeping slowly, almost like vines, or climbing roses, the boy's red-blond hair began to grow along his scalp. It grew so thin in the beginning that it waved gently against his skull, before it became too long, and too thick to wave and merely fell into semi-straight locks of hair that curled gently at the ends.

By the time the man had no blood left to give, Rio's body had been fully healed, and both Kira and Yukichi were discussing the length of the eldest vampire's hair.

"...I don't understand why it came back so long..." Kira muttered absently.

"I don't know why it came back at all. I didn't think it regenerated like the rest of him."

"I know. Obviously we have to study the regeneration process of vampires more thoroughly..." Kira sighed, then made a face. "Why did it have to come back so long? Mine gets in the way enough, and now his!"

Sweatdropping a bit at Kira, Yukichi knelt beside Rio and put a hand on the dying man's face.

"...Thank you."

The man merely smiled softly, before his eyes rolled up into his head, and his body became limp. Checking for a pulse, Yukichi shook his head.

"I suppose... he got what he wanted."

Nodding solemnly, Kira and Yohji made their way over to where Rio stirred a little. Soon, bright blue eyes opened, and blinked a little.

"...Good morning, Rio."

"..." Watching Kira curiously, Rio allowed his gaze to shift over toward the other two men in the room. First, his eyes landed on Yohji, and the playboy smiled amiably at him.

"It's good to see you conscious again..."

Not responding, Rio's gaze moved once again, to the last of the three of them. A slow, small smile spread across Rio's lips.

"I thought I smelt cinnamon."

"You'll smell cinnamon every day of your life if I have any say on the matter."

Rio slowly sat up with Kira's help. His body, stiff and sore, caused a dizzy spell to wash over him as he sat up. As the world stabilized itself again, Rio reached out to his blue-eyed boyfriend. Kira and Yohji moved aside as Rio held Yukichi tightly.

"I thought... I had lost you..." Rio murmured into Yukichi's hair, using his arms to pull Yukichi closer.

Shifting to accommodate the lack of space, Yukichi responded. "I could say the same for you."

Kira sighed a bit, heavily, and went to move the dead man from the room. Yohji, sensing Kira's ever so light depression, joined him in taking the man outside.

"...What's wrong?" Yohji asked as they waited for the elevator to reach the bottom floor of the building.

"Nothing... They're always like that," Kira smiled a little. "Sometimes, though... especially after something bad happens... I feel like they're closer with one another than either are with me.

"I don't mind so much anymore, though... I guess I just have to deal with it," the brunette smiled a little more. "Besides, I know they love me. No matter how hard it is to tell, sometimes."

Yohji blinked at the brunette, and then shrugged. "Normally this would be the point where I offered some advice, but... you're not Omi, or Ken. You seem to have all the advice you need right inside of you. All I'll say is this: You got your heart in the right place, and shit happens. Follow your instincts, and your heart, and you'll be fine."

Kira laughed suddenly. "You're beginning to remind me of Tenji-san..."

"Rio's brother? ...How so?" Yohji asked curiously.

"He's a romance novelist. He says strange, pointless, sappy things. And oddly enough, as sappy, pointless and strange as they are, they make a lot of sense."

The two fell silent as they carried the man to the alley beside the building, laying him there under a blanket with the note he had given Yohji earlier on.

* * *

Ran was the only one who greeted him when he finally returned home. The whole house seemed oddly quiet. Ken wasn't making noise in the kitchen; Omi wasn't clattering away on a computer. In fact, so deafening was the song of silence in the Koneko that for a moment he wondered if he had gone deaf.

"...Oi, Aya... where're the chibi and Kenken?" Yohji asked the red-head, who sat quietly in a chair with a book open.

"Upstairs."

Relieved that he hadn't gone deaf, Yohji headed upstairs to try and find the source of the silence in the house - it was a strange thing for him to search for, however, since it couldn't possibly exist. Not in the Koneko. Noise always existed in the Koneko.

Poking his head into Omi's room, he saw the boy sitting at his window, gazing outside forlornly. There was no finger twitching, foot tapping, or sighing to be had in that room, Omi sat completely still.

"...Omittchi?"

A blank expression turned towards the door, and Omi nodded politely to him. "Welcome back, Yohji-kun."

Frowning at the oddly uncharacteristic behaviour of the teen, Yohji nodded politely in response, and then headed out in search of Ken. The brunette's bedroom door was shut when he approached, and he debated knocking, instead just opening the door.

The bedroom was empty. He checked the bathroom, the kitchen, the mission room, everywhere, before finally giving up. Taking a seat beside Ran, he grumbled.

"He's on the roof."

"…Excuse me?" Yohji blinked.

"Ken, he's on the roof," Ran repeated.

"…Thanks, Aya…" Yohji responded, the headed for the roof.

Sure enough, Ken leaned against the bars on the roof of the building, staring at the sky in a manner that vaguely reminded him of Omi's own pose, except that Ken stood, while Omi sat.

"Hey Ken." The brunette didn't move. In fact, Yohji's presence didn't register at all in his mind.

"…Ken?" Yohji stepped closer. "What's wrong with you?"

"…..Wish I knew…" Ken responded, finally. "Glad you're back, Yohji."

Yohji frowned a little. "…what's going on?"

"... What do you mean?" Ken asked, still avidly watching the sky.

"…You and Omi… you're both doing this weird not talking, not moving, statue impression thing…" Yohji said, leaning on the bar beside Ken.

"…Just thinking… about life… about death… about our jobs… And man are we fucked up."

Pulling out a cigarette, Yohji lit it and took a deep drag, glancing at Ken from the corner of his eye. "...We've been fucked up for a long time, Kenken."

"...We tried to kill someone... someone who was suffering..."

"...He wasn't suffering. He was content... content with his loneliness."

"...I'd hate to live that way," Ken sighed, "how could a person survive that way?"

Looking over at Ken again, Yohji took another very long drag, exhaling slowly. "...Ask Omi. I bet he could tell you."

Ken frowned a bit, turning to face Yohji. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means whatever you want it to mean, Kenken," Yohji said, patting his head, then dropping the cigarette to stomp it out. "Think about it, but don't think too long."

With that said, Yohji headed for the stairs and vanished from the rooftop. Ken watched after him, then glared and stuck his tongue out at the door.

"Stupid Yohji, what does he know?" Ken grumbled, _what indeed?_

* * *

Imagine that... A pairing! I'm proud. Anyways, one, maybe two more chapters to follow this up. The second part of the Finale and possibly an epilogue. Much love. 


	12. Finale pt2

A Song For The Dead

Finale Part II

"Oi Omi! Omi?" Ken called, looking around the kitchen, then the living room.

He thought he'd had all the bases covered - Omi's room, the mission room, living room, kitchen, the shop, even Yohji and Ran's rooms had been checked, but the little blonde boy was missing from all those spots. Making his way upstairs again, Ken looked distinctly thoughtful.

It was then, as he paused at the top of the stairs, that he heard the water - and noticed the bathroom light was on. Curiously, Ken rapped lightly on the door, opening it while he was at it.

"Omi?" No response. "Omi, is that you?"

"...Ken-kun... I'm trying to have a shower, please leave me alone," the soft voice replied.

"Ah! It _is_ you! Look, Omi, I need to talk to you," Ken said, closing the door behind him, despite Omi's request.

"Ken-kun, not now! Later," Omi insisted, sounding mildly irritated.

Ken, however, took a seat against a wall. "Naw, we can talk now, I'm sure."

Finally poking his very wet head out of the shower, Omi frowned at Ken. "I'm having a _shower_ right now. Meaning I'm _naked_ and in no position to be talking to you! Now if you _don't_ mind, I'd like to continue said shower!"

And the head disappeared again. "I don't mind if you're naked, really, no problem with that," Ken responded.

With a frustrated noise, Omi poked his head out again. "Get out! Get out before I stick you with something very, _very_ sharp!"

"Oi you don't mean that!" Ken grinned. Omi stared blankly at him.

"I'm ignoring you," was his only response as the head once again vanished.

For a few moments, there was nothing but silence. Ken idly watched Omi's silhouette as he washed, and Omi very avidly continued his washing, attempting to ignore the fact that his best friend was sitting in the bathroom while he was showering.

Suddenly, there was a cold gust of air in the shower, and a pair of clothing-clad arms wrapped around Omi's shoulders. Omi yelped, dropping the soap and nearly falling over.

"W-what the hell?! _Ken-kun_!" the boy exclaimed, horrified beyond belief.

"Well, you were ignoring me. You can't ignore me now. We need to - " Ken broke off as water was sprayed directly into his face.

"KEN! Get the HELL out of here you PERVERT!" Omi's tone rose to a squeaky soprano. He was armed with the shower head, and some rather foamy looking soap, and he was _not_ impressed.

* * *

"Yotan..."

"Hm?"

"...What did Kira say to you yesterday?" blue eyes looked imploringly at him.

"Eh?" Yohji blinked back at the shorter boy. "Well... We spoke about how nice the day was, if that's what you mean," the playboy grinned. Rio's look didn't change.

"Tell me the truth, Yohji," Rio said, his tone becoming a little darker, indicating his seriousness. "What did Kira say?"

A warm breeze filtered into the bedroom that Rio currently occupied. Both Yukichi and Kira insisted that he stay in bed, at least for a day, until they could be sure he was alright. Currently, Yohji was the babysitter, since Kira was at work, and Yukichi had to go into the doctor's for a check-up on his leg.

Although still slightly more pale than usual, Rio seemed to be back to normal - at least, that was what Yohji was told. To him, however, the vampire was nothing less than a complete stranger to him. He spoke freely; he laughed and smiled, hummed and sang, and readily answered questions and responded to comments. Aside from that, his hair was long. That was one thing Yohji didn't think he'd ever get over.

"Yohji..." was a warning tone. Wrinkling his nose, Yohji sighed.

"Why does it matter so much?" he asked.

"Because something's wrong, and he's upset, and I love him and damn well want to know why he's been so blue!" Rio pouted, the seriousness of a moment before had completely fled him.

* * *

Ken sat sulkily in his room, attempting to dry himself, and his clothes, off. All he'd wanted to do was talk to Omi, but apparently the blonde wasn't quite open to that suggestion. He'd been trying to get a talk with Omi in for a while, but Omi had eluded him, always disappearing to do this that and the next thing. The shower had been his only chance - all he wanted was to talk!

He pondered to himself whether or not he could go without talking to Omi for any long period of time. The repercussions of such an action were that he'd have to confide his troubles in the ever stoic Aya, or attempt to get Yohji serious enough to listen with out being an idiot about it. Neither of those sounded like viable options.

Thinking about Yohji brought up even less tasteful aspects than he had been thinking about previously. Yohji was a vampire, now, and he would be living with them, under their roof, with an insatiable urge for blood. According to Omi's short briefing on their predicament, Yohji would be given a supply of medication that prevented the sun from causing damage for large periods of time, and with Kira's help they were to sort out how to live with him for a short time.

It turned out that Kira, the rather interesting girl they had met what seemed like eons ago, but was actually only a couple nights ago, was actually not a girl at all, but a boy, a vampire, and a scientist working on a cure for supernatural ailments, including vampirism. This, of course, worked in their favor.

Sure, Kira's on-again-off-again boyfriend had turned their co-worker and roommate into a blood thirty killer, but at least they now knew that such creatures existed. And they had a source for a possible cure to come, as well. Heck, the whole vampire bit could be a plus in their line of work. Yohji got stabbed, ouch, pain, heal and he's all better. In fact, it made killing people beneficial to them. Him. Whatever.

Sighing, Ken laid down, an arm under his head, and stared thoughtfully at the wall. He would have been more than pleased to have been able to confide all this in Omi, his best friend, but Omi was far from open to that idea right now. He wasn't sure who to confide all this in, now, as he had no real want to make Yohji uncomfortable, or to talk to someone who would likely spend most of the time looking annoyed.

Yohji was scheduled to return later that day, with the group of people he had been staying with, and with luck they would all get a lovely tutorial about how to take care of a vampire. The very thought of a vampire made Ken's head spin.

* * *

"Promise they won't stab me again?"

"I can't exactly guarantee that. You did royally piss Ken-kun off."

"I suppose…" Rio sighed, running a hand through his hair, and taking an extra couple of moments to rejoice over his hair's rather sudden change in lengths.

"Ready to go in?" Omi asked, watching him rather expectantly.

"Ready to possibly be gutted? To face people who tried to burn me alive? Do you think I'm a masochist?"

There was a short pause, as both boys thought that over.

"You know what? Never mind answering that. I really must be."

Omi looked indistinctly amused at him, but turned to lead him down the stairs to the mission room. Already in attendance in the room were Ken, Ran and Yohji, as well as both Kira, and Yukichi. And the groups were rather distinctly separated, with the exception of Yohji.

Rio quietly followed the blonde in front of him, looking a little bit aggravated as he tried to figure out exactly what he would say. All the explaining, of course, would b left to Kira, but he owed them a lot of apologies, and wasn't sure that they would apologize to him in return for their actions. In a way, he'd brought it on himself – after all, he _had_ kidnapped a member of their team… sort of… willingly...

Moving to stand with his boyfriends, Rio fidgeted absently. He noticed every movement in the room, from the shifting of the brunette beside him, to the reflexive defensive movements made by Ken – it was all in his sight, and it all put him on the edge.

Omi took a seat beside Ken, and watched the pair standing in front of them. Yukichi sat to one side, as silent support for the pair who were uncharacteristically nervous about all this.

Taking a deep breath, Rio collected his thoughts, and felt a sudden warmth as Kira's hand wrapped around his. Feeling distinctly more comfortable, he squeezed the hand in return, and looked to the members of Weiss.

"I owe you a few apologies," he stated, ignoring the snort from Ken, and taking another deep breath. "I was upset, which isn't an excuse but… I screwed up. It's not uncommon with me." This time, it was Kira's warning 'Rio…' that he ignored.

"I wanted an escape… I thought that I might find it within your group. I didn't intend to hurt anyone, and further more, I didn't intend to turn anyone, which is why the biggest apology is owed to you, Yohji," he inclined his head slightly, biting his lip.

Yohji waved it off, with a little smile. Looking to Kira, Rio quieted. Kira's expression was somewhat somber for a moment, before it occurred to him that it was his turn, and he looked towards the couch that his audience sat on.

"Look, I'm not gonna sugar-coat this for you guys. You're living with a vampire – nothing is sugary about that. As of yet, our cure is… unstable, at best. While there are little things available, such as a sort of vampiric sun-block, and something to allow vampires to eat normal food-"

"-However, little it satisfied hunger," Rio added quietly.

"-we don't have a way to make your compatriot human again."

There was a short silence, and the boys of Weiss slowly glanced around at each other. "So, what do we feed him in the meantime?" Omi piped up.

Both Ken and Yohji glanced at him, with grim expressions, and Omi immediately wrinkled his nose. "Fine, Yohji-kun, if you think you can live with that."

Kira shook his head a little. "We will keep in contact, and attempt to keep you as… well off as possible, until we can complete the cure."

Yukichi moved from leaning on the wall to join the pair on the floor, before all three ascended the stairs, and disappeared into the night.

"This… is going to be interesting," Omi said with a sigh, and Ken nodded.

"Oi, Yohji, you know this means you'll actually have to avoid those bars and stuff, right? Just in case and all."

Yohji gave them a cheeky grin. "Yes, but it also means I can't work mornings… or days, at all! I'm flower shop free!"

"Sun block, Yohji-kun, sun block."

* * *

**End

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_I want to thank you all for reading, and taking part in this story. This is my first multi-chapter story to be completed, and I hope that it will be the first in a long running series of finished stories._

_B.A.C._


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